‘State of Affairs’ season 2: Exec still hopeful for renewal, cites DVR ratings, loyalty

Last night, “State of Affairs” concluded its first season on NBC … and it did not exactly do so in a way that tied together any loose ends. Basically, this was a bold move to give you such a cliffhanger, knowing full well that this is a show very much on the bubble, and it may be canceled by the time the upfronts roll around in May.

So is there a sense of confident from inside the show that a renewal is coming, which in turn justified that ending? While we would not say that, executive producer Joe Carnahan suggests to Entertainment Weekly that there is enough of a reason at the moment to at least have some ambiguity on the series’ future:

“Listen, as disappointing as the ratings have been at times, what we maintained is the core audience. And that’s grown steadily in the DVR numbers … If we’re simply looking at what Les Moonves is saying, that the Nielsen system is essentially dead—which I believe—I think that unless you’re a show like Empire or The Blacklist, it’s a very suspect time.”

For now, we’re going to say that the show has a slight shot. Like we said last night, NBC is not a network right now with a strong 2015. “Allegiance” was a big-time flop. “The Slap” is not looking any better, and their comedy lineup is almost entirely dead with “Parks and Recreation” going off the air soon. Aside from “The Blacklist” or anything executive produced by Dick Wolf, is there anything that they really have to rely on? Given the improvement of this show over the past couple of months, we feel almost like they should give this show another chance to grow and evolve, and then make a firmer decision on its future next year. After all, it’s possible that your new pilots could all fizzle, and at least you know what you are getting here.

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